Night safari in Cat Tien

The deal is your safari starts at 8 p.m. after you have hired a jeep to explore the forest together with a local tour guide. From the park’s office, the car speeds through the bamboo forests and grasslands and appearing in front of you is a domain where animals often go seeking food.

The driver stops and turns off the lights. The tour guide on the hood switches on the flashlight, creating streaks of light a hundred meters long and scanning before discovering some carefree deer grazing.

Detecting the light, they lift their head and see tourists via their red and wild eyes in the dark. The truck penetrates deep through the forest and passengers may see a black wild boar, muntjac, porcupine or pangolin searching for food.

They quickly hide in the deep forest if they encounter humans, though, so be still and quiet if possible. On the road to the jungle, you have to be careful with unexpected long branches of trees which can hit your face.

So many varieties of birds rest on the branches of trees along the two sides of the road. Even when the light shines on them they stand quietly, and it’s an ideal spot for photographers to take some snapshots. When the flashlights and the flashes from cameras turn on, thousands of termite species try to attack the tourists.